Once A Cheater

By Veronica Rose

Joseph grew up in the lap of luxury. All he cared about was girls. He is carefree just like he wants it until he meets Rosa. Then everything changes. He gives in to love and what love has in store for him. But, Rosa is diagnosed with inoperable cancer and Joseph soon gets a crash course in responsibility. He is faced with the care of her five year old and her ailing parents. Now he has to learn what being a man is all about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Victoria Publishing
• Release date: May 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005800789

Veronica Rose

Veronica Rose is a pharmacist, wife, and super mom. She loves to read novels and write!

Book preview

Chapter 1

14-year-old Joseph tugged at his shirt and then cupped his hand to his mouth and blew. No, he thought. Then he pulled some gum from his pocket and chewed a minute and threw it in the trash next to him. He was ready for his ascent.

The three prettiest girls in the school were just 10 meters away and they immediately looked his direction in unison. He heard a big exhale, one made in obvious dis-appreciation of his forthcoming approach. A wave of panic shot through him and he thought abort. But it was too late. He was in too far. He had reached that dreaded point of no return which he had heard so much about. Now it was all or nothing. He was a man. A real man, he thought. And he was going to go get what was his.

At 6 feet from his target, he made a brief stop to pull up his pants and make sure his shirt was tucked in.

"Agh, he’s coming here. You talk with him," he heard.

Two girls looked away for a minute and the third looked at him blankly as he made his landing.

Uh, yeah? she said and stuck out her chin. He waved her head to and fro.

Joseph scanned the girls to sum up enemy territory.

Hello, Candida, I was...just...

He looked at her and she glared with a hot look that blazed through him, searing his very innards.

Uh, hurry up, I have class in a minute, she said.

Giggling came from the other two girls, and he then again heard sharp exhales, disgusted exhales, and the click of a tongue against the roof of the mouth.

Do you want to go to the dance with me on Friday? he said.

Then she looked him up and down, not with a possibility look but with a last utter contempt look, one that sits down in a boy’s psyche and burns for the next 20 or 30 years, which is exactly what it did.

Uh, thanks and everything, she said as she waved her head back and forth, but I’m washing my hair on Friday.

Then she simply turned around and faced her friends. That was his big dismissal and he knew it.

Um, at least she said she was sorry, he thought.

Then he heard a screech of laughter as he made the walk of shame back...his big descent. At the end of the hall ,he was greeted by his best friend Thomas.

How did it go? he asked with a big grin.

He was answered by a nodding head back and forth and then he saw the pain in Joseph’s face. Utter humiliation was what it was. Thomas changed the subject and patted Joseph on the back.

Hey, Joseph, no problem. I think that new movie is playing this weekend. Let’s go catch that instead of that stupid dance, Thomas said.

Joseph shook his head as he held back the tears. He couldn’t cry in front of his friend. He would never live that down. He reached inside of his book bag and pulled out three Snickers bars. He handed one to Thomas and quickly inhaled one of his and unwrapped the other one. Then he shrugged a yes and forced a smile. He thought how he really had to stop eating so much candy.

As they walked down the hall and onto the playground, Joseph vowed that he would get his revenge one day. All that wasn’t necessary, he thought, especially if he came in peace and even wanted to ask her out. Why did girls have to be like that? he wondered. He vowed that day to do anything he had to do to never let that happen again. And that was the beginning of whatever it took to be a real man, at least in his 14-year-old mind.

CHAPTER 2

15 years later.

Rosamie bent down just in front of the grave and then she handed the rose to her 5-year-old daughter Andrea.

Here, precious. Lay this on your daddy’s grave and then we’ll pray, ok? Rosamie said.

Then she handed the flower to her daughter.

Yes, mommy, Andrea said as she took the flower.

Rosamie and Andrea bent down and placed their flowers on the father’s headstone and then stood straight with hand clasped together.

Dear Lord, thank you for Honesto. We thank you for his sacrifice and for the gift of him in our life. Please bless his soul we pray. Amen, Rosa said.

She brushed a tear and stood and stared. Andrea bent down and picked up a stick and focused on an ant hill.

Three years had passed since Honesto had been killed in service to his country. She never knew the exact details nor did she ever expect to. He served his country and that was the long and short of it. He had given his life to protect his neighbors and friends. Now she and Andrea were alone.

Rosamie, or Rosa as she was called, was a stunning woman of just 28 whom had married her college sweetheart and had a child within a year. And then Rosa’s husband was killed when Andrea was just two.

Rosa had not dated since the death, and actually she didn’t date at all. She wouldn’t be alone with a man either. That wasn’t proper and that had ramifications that would ripple throughout her daughter’s life, she always said.

She followed the rule: Never go out with anyone that wasn’t good enough to marry. But to her, going out wasn’t actually going out. It was a coffee or a coke or a hamburger. That wasn’t what people called a date. To her, it was a daily life type of an interview, and if someone couldn’t function there, he couldn’t function in any part of her life because that was normal. Spending $100 on a meal to impress her was not. And she hadn’t consented to but only a couple of interviews since Honesto’s death.

Both of Rosa’s parents were teachers as was Rosa. However, they were retired now and her mother was not in the best of health. Rosa and Andrea lived at home with her parents who loved their granddaughter to the point of nearly spoiling her, though this would never do. Andrea had her chores to keep her in check, especially since she was the only child in the family just like her mother was.

Andrea was responsible for picking up her toys, folding her clothes, and helping mommy dry the dishes. She was especially cheerful in helping with baked goods such as sugar cookies because that meant she could stick her finger in the cookie dough when nobody was looking. Andrea was already in Kindergarten. And that was quickly coming to an end.

Rosa bent over and pulled at Andrea’s elbow.

Time to go, Andrea. Tell daddy goodbye.

Goodbye, daddy. We love you, Andrea said.

They turned and walked away and Andrea waved bye-bye as they left. Then she spoke as they walked toward the car.

Mommy, is daddy in heaven right now? she said.

Rosamie kept walking as she talked.

Yes, baby, he is in heaven. And someday you will see your daddy again, she said, looking down at her daughter.

Mommy, can we play hide and seek in heaven like in the video with daddy? she asked and looked up at her mother.

"Oh, sure, and you can have as much ice cream as you want in